Love In Its True Definition
by Firebolt Seeker
Summary: It's a long, hot, and windless day on the sea. The Pearl is going no where. While Anamaria and Gibbs play a game of chess, Jack Sparrow sits back and ponders deeply what he may be missing in life. (ONE-SHOT. No pairings.)


_A/N: Whoa! This is my first POTC fic. Actually, this is the first fic I've posted on this site! Isn't that wild? Anyway, I wrote this one today. Came outta nowhere._

_This is just a one-shot fic. I was thinking of doing a sequel, but if I do write one, it might take some time cause it would most likely be a multi-chapter fic, which I've never done before. Luckily my best friend (white rose keeper, look her up!) said she'd help me with it._

_Without much further ado:_

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Jack Sparrow stood at the wheel of the Black Pearl as he looked out toward the ocean. There was no breeze. The temperature was rising. He knew his attempts of getting his beloved to move in this oppressive, still weather were only in vain. He finally (and reluctantly) let go of the wheel and turned to look at his crew. For the most part, they were all sprawled somewhere on deck, and those lucky enough to be under the shady areas of the ship were either asleep or gambling (Anamaria and Gibbs were among them).

The Captain finally realized how humid it was and slipped off his long, blue jacket and threw it aside. He kept his hat on, though, because he just didn't feel complete without it. It had special meaning to him, and few people understood that.

Since he could do nothing more about his ship's slow progress, he had no choice but to find a spot to sit and wait for the wind to pick up. He hated days like this. They were too slow for his liking. He swayed over to where Anamaria and Gibbs were.

"No rum?" Anamaria said to Jack without looking up from what looked like a game of chess.

"No," Jack replied flatly. He let out a long sigh as he sat on a crate next to Gibbs.

It was Gibbs's move. "How are ye, Jack?" He took Anamaria's knight.

"I've been better."

"Mm." said Gibbs as he pondered Anamaria's move.

It was awfully silent for a long while. Jack figured it wouldn't be right to just start up a conversation among two people who were obviously in the middle of an intense game. He didn't feel like talking much anyway. He leaned back against the wall and tilted his hat over his eyes.

Life, for Captain Jack Sparrow, was terribly indescribable. He couldn't help but notice how much of a turn his life made after he had his beloved Pearl returned to him. He was, of course, still the most infamous pirate in the ocean. He and his crew never failed to fill their every need, stealing, treasure-seeking, pilfering. But there was something he couldn't fill. He never understood what that need was. He had never needed it before.

What it was, he couldn't put his finger on. Life of adventure? _Well, what would you call this? _Friends?_ No, I've got 'em. _Women? _Pick 'em up, drop 'em, leave 'em. _Jack searched his brain for another answer.

"Love?" Gibbs suddenly said. Jack stirred. _What?_

"Mm?" Anamaria said in what seemed like an oh-too-sweet-and-innocent manner.

"Thas' cheatin'."

Anamaria looked confused. "What is?"

"Taking one of me pawns off the bloody board, thas' what."

"Oh. So that's what it's called, eh?" she said with a nervous chuckle and gave up the pawn.

Jack's mind was now racing. _What was that? _Love? _Yeah. _The word sent an odd feeling through his body; he didn't know why. The word had never felt so familiar, yet unfamiliar to him.

Of course, he used it often in his lifetime to women he was with. _I'll come back, love. _But he never did. _Hello, love._ Always greeted with a slap whenever he did. _Welcome to the Caribbean, love. _It was just, in his definition, another pronoun for women. But "love" in it's true, emotional definition...

_Emotional? What pirate has emotions? Well, Barbossa was an exception. _Jack thought. _No. Love is just a thing pirates are never meant to know._

_... But is it really? _Jack was now succumbing into his curiousity. He was always like that, always wanting to go outside the boundaries if he had to.

Will Turner, after all, _did_ fall in love, and was still technically considered a pirate.

Jack was now just confused. Was this thing called "love" really what he had been missing? Was there really one woman out there waiting for him to walk into her life? How long had she been waiting?

_Whoa. _That thought almost scared him, and Jack was seldom ever scared of anything, no less his thoughts. _What am I thinking? I'm a bloody pirate! There's no girl waiting for me out there! _

_... Right?_

He would never know for sure if he spent the rest of his life on the sea.

But the sea _is_ his life.

_I can't love anyone. I've only had one love in me life, and that's the Pearl. _Somehow this didn't sound right in his head. It didn't click like it used to.

"I've had one love in me life, and that's the Pearl," Jack said out loud.

"We know that, Jack," Anamaria said, pondering her next move. It seemed as though she was losing the chess game.

"Good for ye, Jack," said Gibbs, not paying any attention to his Captain.

_That doesn't sound right either. _Jack concluded. He let out a long sigh. He had to know. He had to know if there was a girl out there waiting for him, and if there was, he didn't want her to wait the rest of her life only to find out her wait was in vain because he never set out to find her.

If there wasn't a girl out there for him, then Jack knew that he'd be at peace just knowing for sure. If his life was truly meant for the Pearl and the sea, then it would be...

"Aaaargh!" He heard Anamaria groan in frustration.

Jack looked at the two playing. Gibbs had a triumphant smile on his face as he held Anamaria's king in his hand. Anamaria just stood and stormed below deck.

"What's up with her?" said Jack in confusion.

Gibbs shrugged.

Jack decided to change the subject. "Gibbs," he started, "I need to find her."

"Who? Anamaria? She's just below deck."

"What? No! No, not her." He was now wondering if he was doing the right thing. "I need to know if there's someone out there waiting for me."

"Well, yeah, Jack. The British Royal Navy."

Jack was getting very impatient. "Gibbs," he said sharply, "I need to find that one girl. I need to find out whether or not my heart belongs to the sea... Or if it belongs to a person... Savvy?"

Gibbs now understood what Jack had been talking about. "Ah, ye need to find her, says you. But, Jack, what makes ye think there _is_ a girl for you?"

"I'll never know if I don't find out the answer for meself."

Suddenly, Jack felt a small breeze. He looked up at the sails and saw them blowing against the wind. He stood up from where he sat and made his way to the wheel. The Pearl was now sailing after a long day of stillness. To where it was sailing, Jack didn't know, but he knew he'd go where the wind would take him.

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_A/N: Reviews would be lovely! :D Sequel or no?_


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